Pay Attention
by KMFBRose
Summary: It's a short story. Robin's POV. What are the consequences if you aren't aware of your surroundings?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first young justice story. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. (Robin's POV)**

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><p>I should have listened to him. I should have heard how anxious he sounded, his voice a higher pitch than usual. I should have questioned why he yelled, when I was just in the other room. The fear that lurked behind his words should have sent me sprinting into the other room, but it didn't. I hadn't been paying attention.<p>

I heard him call out, "Hey Rob . . . you need to get in here." I sighed, and ignored him. Whatever new game he was playing, I wasn't interested. I refocused on the computer screen. I was close, so close to hacking into the encrypted files I had found on Bruce's personal computer. I couldn't worry about video games. Bruce had worked hard to hide whatever was in these files. The voice rang out again, and I started to feel irritated. "Rob . . . please?" I refused to acknowledge the small plea. "Not now," I muttered. My fingers were flying across the keyboard, and I was there. It was as if the locks were clicking open, when the message popped up. REALLY ROBIN? I swore under my breath, and that's when I heard it. The gunshots rang in my ears, and although my brain froze, I guess my body kept going. The next thing I knew I was in the other room. Wally lay on the floor curled up in pain, his hands clutched to his stomach, crimson blood seeped through his fingers. A man stood over him, the gun still smoking in his hand. I still wasn't in control because in an instant there was a little explosion, and I saw one of my birdarangs go off at his feet. The man began stumbling backwards, and I instinctively threw another. The man was fast, and he caught it, but not fast enough. Gas poured from the birdarang, and he was out cold on the floor in seconds.

I fell to the ground next to Wally, who was moaning, his eyes shut tight as he attempted to keep the pressure on his wound. I began shaking, and the tears poured down my face. I now had control of neither my mind, nor my body. Wally was now shaking too, and I looked down seeing his emerald-green eyes darting around before they finally rested on my face. Wally had gone white as a sheet, a startling contrast to his bloodied hands. "Rob?" he said it as a question. In fact, it was too many questions. Questions I understood, but had no answers to. _"What's going on? Will I be all right? Why didn't you come sooner? Can you stop the pain? How did he get in? Are you all right? Am I going to . . ." _I stopped myself from completing the thought. That single, feeble word had brought me back to my senses. I tried to lock down the feelings and emotions behind a dam that I knew would eventually break. That didn't matter now though. I needed to get traught. Wally needed me right here, right now, and I could take the time to be distraught later. I looked at Wally and began assessing the wound. He had lost a lot of blood, and he was trembling. Due to his super speed, Wally's skin had begun healing around where the bullet had entered. I wasn't sure, but closing the bullet in seemed like a step backwards. I needed to get Wally to expert, and I needed to get him there now.

I scooped Wally up gently, but despite holding him closer it felt like he was slipping away faster. I moved towards the med bay slowly, trying not to cause him any more pain. As I walked it felt like I was disconnecting from my body. I tried to come with what to do next. Surely someone else had heard the shot. It had felt like hours, but in reality, only a minute or two had passed. They would find us soon. The longer I walked the farther my mind seemed to float from the real situation, and soon I was looking down at myself, but I seemed younger. I wasn't brave or confident. I lacked my usual grin, and I felt vulnerable. I was scared, and unsure. Then I realized I was speaking. "No. No, no, no. You can't leave me." I heard the little boy whisper to his shivering friend. "You'll be fine," he murmured as if he were trying to convince himself. I wasn't sure what to think. I watched, as I continued to move forward slowly repeating the lines. The sound of footsteps caught my attention, and I was snapped back together. I could barely hold Wally, but the sight of Black Canary, our den mother for the week, made me feel slightly relieved. "Robin, what's going on? Did I hear gunshots, and what . . ." Canary's question died away as she finally connected her questions to the wheezing boy in my arms. I stood there helplessly, unable to speak. Canary took Wally from my aching arms, and then she raced down the corridor without so much as a backward glance. I stood there, my arms hanging limply at my sides. My feelings, and thought were a jumbled mess. I don't know how long I stood there, but it didn't matter. I was vaguely aware of people passing me, but I didn't care. I stayed, not moving, not thinking. Even when I felt a calloused hand grab my shoulder, I remained frozen. "Robin," came a gruff voice from behind me. I didn't respond. "Robin he's going to live. He'll be fine. It's going to be a complete recovery." I was thrilled, I was relieved, I was unbelievably grateful, but I couldn't turn to face my mentor . . . I couldn't face anyone. Not now anyway, because it was my fault.

I should have listened to him. I should have heard how anxious he sounded, his voice a higher pitch than usual. I should have questioned why he yelled, when I was just in the other room. The fear that lurked behind his words should have sent me sprinting into the other room, but it didn't. I hadn't been paying attention.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it. You may be wondering how the guy got in, but to be honest, I haven't really thought that through yet. I'm considering a second story. It would be another short story, and it would start where this one begins, but this time from Wally's POV. What do you think?<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Ahh!" I shouted, and threw the controller onto the floor. "Again? I lost again! How is that even possible?" I flopped back against the couch and sighed. Stupid video game. I was never playing that again. Rob always got the high scores. He probably used cheat codes. I reached over and grabbed the controller off the floor. Who was I kidding? I had to try again. I couldn't let my younger best friend beat me at my own games. I was about to click restart when I felt something sting the back of my next. I went swat away what I thought was a bug, but my hand didn't hit a wasp. It hit the small needle that was piercing into my skin.

I pulled out the needle quickly and flung it away from me. Someone was in the cave. That's when I felt the cold steel take the place where the needle had been.

"Don't move," came a low voice from behind me. I almost chuckled. There was no way some loser with a gun was going to best me. As I got ready to jump up from the couch and take him down, he continued talking. "That needle contained a new drug that I just created. I think you'll appreciate the irony of it." I frowned. What was he going on about? "You see it slows down a person's body. Their reaction time slows, their thoughts become sluggish, etc." I gulped, and tried to process the new information.

"What do you mean?" I whispered.

"Well, if everything goes according to plan, you're at our speed now. It only lasts for a couple of minutes, but that should suffice. Now stand up." I took a deep breath and tried to stand quickly, but he was right. I was . . . slow. This was serious bad news. I tried to focus, but everything felt so wrong. Time wasn't flying by . . . it was crawling backwards.

"Now. Is there anyone else near us?" I nodded, and my head spun. "Good. Who?" I tried to keep my mouth shut, but my brain wasn't listening.

"Rob . . . Robin, he's in the other room." I said. The words came out mumbled.

"Anyone else?" I shook my head. "That's fine. He's just the person I need." The man looked around the room. "Call him in. Don't say why, just get him in here."

"Hey Rob . . . you need to get in here," I called out. My head was still spinning. I couldn't take this guy on. Robin would be fine. Nothing ever caught him off guard. He would know something was up. I waited awhile, and the man gestured at me to yell again.

"Rob . . . please?" I could hear him typing away in the other room.

"Not now," came the muttered reply. He wasn't coming. I waited longer, and it felt like an eternity. The strange man started to move towards the other room. I had to do something. If Robin isn't paying attention he could get hurt. Maybe I can charge the guy. The drug should be wearing off soon, and he wouldn't expect that, would he? I stepped forward and the man wasted no time. I couldn't react. I was too slow. The bullet shot into my stomach, and I fell.

The floor connected with my face, and I tried to curl in on myself. I pressed my hands over the wound and bit my lip to keep from crying out. I heard footsteps, but was distracted by the blood oozing out of my stomach and onto my shaking hands. There was a loud bang, and I lifted my head, but I couldn't see what was happening. Darkness ate away at the corners of my vision. I moaned as the pain grew, and shut my eyes. It was tearing through me, ripping me apart. My arms began to shake, and I felt my hands slip from my stomach. I could barely move, but I needed to know what was going on. I opened my eyes slowly, and in what remained of my vision, I could see Robin. He was kneeling beside me, his face streaked with tears.

"Rob . . .?" I whispered. I didn't know what to do. There wasn't anything I could do. I felt like I was on fire. I could feel my speed returning, but it wouldn't help me now. I shuddered as the skin around the bullet tried to stitch itself back together. What if . . . what if I didn't make it?

I felt Robin's arms around me, as he slowly lifted me off the ground. He's so little, but he always was strong. I tried to stay awake, but the darkness kept dragging me down. It pulled me deeper and deeper into my mind, and farther away from Robin. What would he do if I didn't make it? That's when I heard him.

"No. No, no, no. You can't leave me. You'll be fine." I tried to smile at Robin. To reassure him that I would be okay, but not even my eyes would open. I was too far away to reach him. He kept saying that I'd be fine, and I wish he were right. We suddenly stopped moving, and before I could figure out what was happening, the darkness overcame me.


End file.
